Free Stuff I love: Cute cleaning Tutes

First things first: How was speed cleaning Day 2? Here is a quick run-down:

Space Cleaned: Living and Dining Rooms

Expectations: This will be easy.

Reality: Much harder than I thought. Bigger = More dust traps.

Time taken: at least 45 mins.

Verdict: Living and Dining is harder than it looks, but SO worth it.

My only disappointment with these rooms, is that there is quite a bit of effort to get rid of dust that has been piling up for a while and yet the room gets so messy quickly (especially with kids stuff) I never thought to look on top of the vertical blinds track, and I don't know that I've ever vacuumed inside the sliding door track (is that terrible?). Anyhow, it's done now, and it feels and looks very clean. I am happy. At this rate I will have a beautifully clean house by the long weekend, and next week I will be seeing how much faster it happens in the hope that I can crack that elusive "15 minutes a day". Stay tuned.

So, while I'm on the topic of cleaning, lets stick with the theme. Today's freebies are below and there are some clever and useful cleaning devices. If you know of any more, feel free to post them in the comments below.

Sew some cute laundry bags for the kids dirty washing at I have to Say

Make your swiffer less evil at Look Ma, No patterns!

Make your own dusters at merwing littledear on flickr and we wilsons

[all images from linked original sources]

I'm applying myself.

Me: the world's worst procrastinator. So you can imagine how hard it is to get cleaning done. I do love an organised, clean house, though, and the fact that I procrastinate about this is like rubbing salt in a wound. Throw in a little perfectionism (ie. not worth doing it if it can't get done perfectly) and it's a recipe for clean-house disaster.

SO, I am decided. For the next month I'm going to apply myself. I'm going to stick to the principles suggested in the book Speed Cleaning (Shannon Lush and Jennifer Fleming). I am a huge fan of Spotless, and this one (a sort-of sequel) is a seemingly wonderful book telling me how I can have a spotless house in just 15 minutes a day. Really? I don't believe it.

Well, I shall test it.

Aside from a whole lot of really helpful little hints, my summary of the basic principles of the book are:

1. Keep on top of it (ie. you make a mess you clean it up before you do anything else)

2. Make sure everything has a place

3. Do a little each day (with one day off).

4. Be organised in the method you clean.

I think my major problem is No's 1 and 3. I love to and can easily be organised. And I can have a place for everything, I just need to DO IT EVERY DAY, which is my downfall.

Yesterday was Day 1: I 'speed cleaned' the master bedroom. It took a little longer than 15 minutes (more like 30) because it was my first time, I had a sick (yes again) 13 month old hanging around, I am also sick with a cold, and there was more dust than I expect there will be next time. All in all I managed OK.

The verdict: Bedroom handles easily. We shall see how the next round is.

Love this vintage...

Yellow pinafore from Babyhank.

Sunny and sweet isn't it? Shame it's a size 3-6 months and my little girl won't fit it.

Must go and sew something for her soon. She's just about walking without falling over so often now, and choosing to walk instead of crawl, so she's just about ready for skirts and cute dresses that won't get caught up under the legs. Yay!!

Free Stuff I Love: marketing tips

Last week the etsy sellers newsletter listed some great forum threads. I had a little look and came across one called 'Get the Etsy Sales you want'. It had some fantastic links there, so take a look at it right here.

But the one I really liked was the list of links to a free online marketing course (5 days) by Handmadeology University. It looks really beneficial, so this week I'm going to do it. Anyone want to join me?

Here are the list of daily classes:

Day 1: Mindset, Business and Technology

Day 2: Facebook

Day 3: Why blogs will build your customer base

Day 4: Get 100+ twitter followers in 24 hours

Day 5: Time Management

These should help me, seeing as I'm about to set up a facebook fan page and also considering a twitter account. What I'd love to know is do any of you sellers twitter? If so, has it helped with sales?

So, this is what I'll be doing as I'm staying in today. Reason being - this is what many East Coast Australians (including me) woke up to:

[image source: Sydney Morning Herald]

Amazing images, yeah? See more here.

GIVEAWAY

Yes, you heard right. My first ever giveaway, and I'm very excited!

I have decided to part with this cute coin purse to one reader, who I really, really hope will treasure it. It's made from natural linen and a vintage embroidered doily and is lined with a sweet blue floral print.

If you'd like to win this little purse, then leave a comment on this post, and of course, you can earn an extra entry by blogging about it! Be sure to let me know if you have done so, and I will make sure your name is in the hat twice! Please also ensure that you have a way I can contact you if you win (either list your email or sign in with your contactable blogger profile that has your email displayed publicly).

Entries close at day end, Friday October 2nd, 2009 (Sydney, Australia time) so be sure to get your entries in by then! The winner will be drawn randomly and I'll post the winner here on this blog.

Best wishes!

Love this vintage...

Pretty floral 1950's dress from Poptatari on etsy. Cute print huh? The close ups of the fabric are really nice too. You can see more pictures here.

Did you have a good weekend? I hope so. I did, and I also found a few of my things today on the SEWN website gallery from last weekend's markets. Yay! Click on over to see more of the lovely things on offer at the last handmade market in Canberra.

Shop Update

Just a quick note today to let you know I've added a few things to the shop this week. A few pictures of the items below:

Pin cushion with vintage embroidery and crochet trim

Zippered Coin Purse with Vintage Embroidery

Click on the etsy link on my sidebar or here to take a closer look.

And a quick thank you to Emma for blogging about my little purse that she purchased at the markets last weekend - nice to have a happy customer! See Emma's cute blog here.